SHIBBOLETH: Thoughts on life and faith

Autumn Meditation

I am blessed that at the moment I have a garden to look out on during my quiet times. I love looking out of the window before and after my prayer time and seeing the world which God has made.

For the past few weeks the trees have been green and I marvelled at how God had made so many beautiful things which I never really look at like the leaves on the trees. Each one is individual and beautiful in its own way and God made them, each one, just because He could, just because that is who He is. This morning as I looked out though, the leaves were brown, and orange, and red and we just as beautiful as when they were green. They are in a different stage of their life but still just as beautiful. Again I was reminded of our great God and how he looks after and cares for his world.

I’m reading through Luke in my quiet time and a verse comes to mind ‘Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.’ Luke 12:27. This is Jesus speaking and He goes on to say that therefore we should not worry, if God cares for each individual lily, or each individual leaf, whether it’s new and green or old and brown, God will take care of us.

Too often I find myself worrying about what to wear, or wishing that I had the money to buy new things but there are more important things in life to worry about. ‘For the… world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.’ Luke 12:30-31

I’m currently reading:

"[Christian rebellion] arises from the doctrine of mankind made in the image of God, and therefore protests against all forms of dehumanization. It sets itself against the social injustices which insult God the Creator, seeks to protect human beings from oppression and longs to liberate them… it protests against every authoritarian regime, whether of the left or of the right, which discriminates against minorities, denies people their civil rights, forbids the free expression of opinions or imprisons people for their views alone."— John Stott